The celebrations are already beginning for composer John Zorn's upcoming 60th birthday on September 2nd. During the next few months there will be concerts of Zorn's music in the museums and concert halls of New York City, as well as elsewhere in the world. Zorn has been an important performer and catalyst in New York's new music scene since the 1970s. His wide-ranging musical interests keep him actively crossing supposed boundaries of style, prolifically creating new projects, and adding still more to the hundreds of albums of his music already released.

John Zorn has been David Garland's most frequent guest on Spinning On Air over the years, and now he returns to the show again, to share some new music--including his unreleased Shir Ha-Shirim (Song of Songs)--that will be featured in two concerts that are part of the Lincoln Center Festival this month: a night of vocal music on July 18, and Zorn's string quartets on July 20.

Zorn also discusses the influence of visual art on his music, his love of research and history, composing music as a spiritual practice, the importance of love in his music, and how risk can lead to transcendence.